Absorbent articles, such as sanitary napkins, diapers, adult incontinence products, and the like, are designed to be worn in close proximity to the crotch of the wearer. Absorbent articles need to provide for fluid acquisition and retention and need to be comfortable to wear.
In use, absorbent articles are stressed by a variety of fluid handling demands. For instance, the central portion of the pad may be assaulted with fluid flow that may either be a trickle or a gush of fluid. If the wearer is lying down on her front or back, fluid may have a tendency to run off of the front end or rear portion of the absorbent article. Typical absorbent articles are approximately the same width as the crotch of the wearer, which can be somewhat narrow. Thus, there is potential for fluid to run off the sides of the absorbent article and soil the wings of the absorbent article, if present, or soil the wearer's undergarment and/or clothing.
A woman's crotch region can comprise many different types of tissues. For instance, the pubic area, labia majora, inner thigh, and anus can each have a different skin texture. Sanitary napkins commonly cover the labia, portions of the crotch forward of the labia, portions of the crotch rearward of the labia, and portions of the crotch laterally adjacent the labia. As a woman wearing a sanitary napkin moves, portions of the sanitary napkin can rub up against nearby body surfaces. Given the complex geometry of a woman's crotch region and the dynamic geometry of a woman's crotch as she moves, different portions of the woman's crotch are exposed to different rubbing forces and the friction between the sanitary napkin and wearer's crotch can vary depending on the location.
The moisture and chemical environments of a woman's crotch can also vary as a function of location. For instance, the labia majora may be exposed to menses and/or urine. The medial portion of the woman's pubic area may be exposed to perspiration. Portions adjacent the medial area may be subjected to more moisture due to the lack of hair and the tendency for a woman's panty to closely conform to the junction of the inner thigh and the crotch and pubic area. The area near the anus may be exposed to more perspiration and anal leakage than areas further away from the anus.
Given the variety of fluid handling demands placed on different portions of an absorbent article, the different physical interactions between portions of an absorbent article and portions of a wearer's body, and different moisture and chemical environments of different portions of a wearer's crotch region, there is continuing and unaddressed need for absorbent articles having a topsheet that has different textures that are arranged to provide fluid handling benefits where needed, skin comfort benefits where needed, and in regions of the topsheet where fluid handling benefits and skin comfort benefits are both desired, a texture is provided that can be acceptable for meeting both needs.